Grammar and Philosophy in Late Antiquity
A study of Priscian's sources
This book examines the various philosophical influences contained in the ancient description of the noun. According to the traditional view, grammar adopted its philosophical categories in the second century B.C. and continued to make use of precisely the same concepts for over six hundred years, that is, until the time of Priscian (ca. 500). The standard view is questioned in this study, which investigates in detail the philosophy contained in Priscian’s Institutiones grammaticae. This investigation reveals a distinctly Platonic element in Priscian’s grammar, which has not been recognised in linguistic historiography. Thus, grammar manifestly interacted with philosophy in Late Antiquity. This discovery led to the reconsideration of the origin of all the philosophical categories of the noun. Since the authenticity of the Techne, which was attributed to Dionysius Thrax, is now regarded as uncertain, it is possible to speculate that the semantic categories are derived from Late Antiquity.
[Studies in the History of the Language Sciences, 107] 2005. x, 171 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Preface | p. ix
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1. Introduction | p. 1
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2. Philosophical Tradition | p. 12
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3. The Alexandrian Grammarians | p. 25
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4. Hellenistic Syncretism | p. 30
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5. Latin Grammarians | p. 38
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6. Priscian | p. 79
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7. The Status of the Eight Parts of Speech | p. 129
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8. Augustine | p. 138
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General Conclusions | p. 151
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Index Auctorum | p. 165
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Index Rerum | p. 167
“[...] successfully produces a more nuanced picture of a fundamental topic in Late Antique thought on language. At a more general level, the study joins others in demonstrating how ancient thought about language, deserves careful attention.”
Benjamin Stevens, Bard College, USA, on LinguistList 16.3543 (2005)
“Ihre Grundthesen hat die Autorin m. E. überzeugend dargestellt. Vieles spricht für L.s position, auch wenn dadurch eine vereinfachte Sichtweise von der Grammatikgeschichte bis hin zu Priscian aufgegeben werden muss.”
Roland Hoffmann, in Gymnasium Band 114, Heft 5 (September 2007)
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Subjects
Linguistics
Philosophy
Main BIC Subject
HP: Philosophy
Main BISAC Subject
PHI000000: PHILOSOPHY / General